In reply to:
Why can't online/phone order only places be like Axiom? Take the savings of not needing much more than a warehouse and sales location (realizing that Axiom needs a construction location too), and pass those savings along instead of pocketing that as extra profit and go cheap on sales staff, customer service, and use poor business practices.
Nick:
I'm glad everything has worked out. I've dealt with a few places like that and it really, really sucks. I've been tempted to drive there with a baseball bat to get to know some of these people in person.
The reason they do it is simply because some people, when at the price comparison web pages, always start with the cheapest. AND, they trust the store's rating because they WANT to believe they're going to get a good deal. I've seen stores have a four or five star rating on the price-comparison sites, then go to an independant website like
ResellerRatings.com and find that they only have a 2 star (out of ten) rating for the last six months! A&M has a rating for .62 out of ten...one of the lowest I've ever seen.
When I'm searching online, I never just look at the cheapest price. I look for the lowest price by an e-tailer that I'm very familiar with or has high ratings across EVERY rating site!
And if, during the order process, they ask if you'd like to pay extra for accessories that the manufacturer normally includes, just hang up. For many purchasers, I've checked the BBB and BBBonline as well. I've spent 25 years in the photography and video production business, and have seen WAY too much crap from some of the NYC places to deal with them.
I don't in any way mean for this to sound like one of those "what did you expect?" lectures, 'cuz like I said, I've been there!
